The Architecture and art of the reformed ecclesiastical communities in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Monuments and state of research

LTThe art and architecture of the Reformed ecclesiastical communities in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (henceforth GDL) have not been a specific object of research up until now. Only a few architectural historians have touched upon the question of the “Reformation style” in the GDL and Poland when trying to identify some anti-gothic and anti-baroque qualities of the buildings of the Reformed communities in these countries. These apparent qualities have been interpreted as an effort by Reformed communities and Evangelicals to separate themselves from Roman Catholic culture. The Polish architectural historian Adam Milobedzki was the first to suggest such a hypothesis. However, the approach of focusing on the architectural style of the region, where the question of style only arises in the 17th century and only among the highest social elite, does not function very well. This was clearly demonstrated by the Belarusian architectural historian Tamara Gabrus, who in her effort to define the “Reformation style” showed the difficulties in distinguishing style from the functional traits of buildings. Gabrus suggested that Reformed communities favoured the Renaissance style. However, apart from the difficulties in identifying the Renaissance style in the architecture of the GDL, an analysis of monuments is not convincing in terms of the presence of confessionally-minded stylistic choices.

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